Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, said the democratic vote for Morsy "meant the Palestinian cause was the Number One priority for all Egyptians".

World Bulletin / News Desk

The Gaza Strip's governing Hamas on Sunday welcomed the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's presidential vote.

Israel-besieged enclave burst into celebration upon hearing that the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy had won elections held after former president Hosni Mubarak fell to a people's revolt last year.

Hamas had a mixed relationship with the previous, U.S.-aligned Egyptian president, who supported Israel's blockade on Gaza.

"We will look to Egypt to play a big, leading role, a historic role, regarding the Palestinian cause, in helping the Palestinian nation get freedom, return home, and totally end the Gaza siege," Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas government, told Reuters Television.

In Gazan streets, the jubilation recalled that which greeted Hamas's victory in a Palestinian election in 2006.

Sweets were handed out to passersby, many of them waving Egyptian flags. Thanksgiving sermons echoed from mosque loudspeakers and gunmen fired in the air - the latter accidentally killing a man and wounding three other people, medical officials said.